So we gave my in-laws an iPad for Christmas. I love my in-laws, but when my wife first suggested that we and her uncle go dutch on the iPad for my in-laws I gave her one of those looks. You know the look. My in-laws are wonderful but they're the folks in the family who needed me or my brother-in-law to come over to fix the blinking clock on the VCR. But my wife consulted her uncle who swore that each of her parents played…
Read MoreSo those wild and wacky Zuckerbergers were at it again yesterday. For a few fleeting moments it looked like the Facebooks folks had flipped the switch on the rumored Fan page redesign. Then, crash….bang….zoom, the entire system goes down and when it comes back the fan pages are back to the Tab-laden walls we've come to know and love? Mashable chronicles this view into the possible future including the backstroke from Facebook saying it was all just a prototype. But this quick glimpse might give…
Read MoreOkay, a quick diversion in this post to focus on a long, lost passion. Growing up in the New York area there were a couple of foods that required almost religious-like journeys to satisfy your desire for them. Pizza was one of them, as early in life you discovered which of the crispy-thin-crust, off the boat from Italy establishments would do the trick. In Jersey (not trying to stereotype here), you could find one of those places on almost every street corner so things were…
Read MoreFirst, apologies for not writing as much lately. Frankly, I've been busy both personal and professional and I just haven't had a great deal of value to say. It is humbling to have conversations with many folks and have them tell me they are regular readers of this blog. We're approaching the blog's second birthday and when it began I didn't know where it would take us all. I'm also spending a great deal of time thinking about where things are going. The topic is…
Read MoreAn amazing thing has happened and to be honest with you it really has crept up on me. But in thinking about things lately I suddenly realized that when we at THP meet with prospective clients they now EXPECT to talk not only about traditional public relations functions but also about all things digital and social. This is a major change and the final stages of its evolution for me have been in a few recent meetings with business-to-business prospects. Traditionally "B-to-B" are the final…
Read MoreThis just in: Mark Z. wants access to your inbox. Unveiled today, Facebook Messaging which sounds a lot like the Facebook version of email or Gmail or just add "mail" to anything. They swear it isn't the "email killer" and maybe it isn't because as with many new products the Facebook folks do a poor job of explaining exactly what it is and you have to actually play with it to find out. You will be offered an @facebook.com address and you will be able…
Read MoreLots of news on the geolocation front over the last couple of days. First, Facebook adds "Deals" to its up-to-this-point not extremely popular "Places" functionality. (Here's a great guide from AllFacebook) Now, word from the folks at Pew, those counters of all things social and digital, that only eight percent of adults and four percent of all users check-in using geolocation platforms like "Places," Foursquare, Gowalla, Yelp, etc. Those number might change since the study was being done just as Facebook launched "Places," but it…
Read MoreIf I wanted to write an ad about life at THP and HDS these days, that would likely be the title. It's not that I'm complaining. Life is pretty good. Did you see the opening segment on "60 Minutes" this week? Scott Pelley did a story on the "99ers," the group of folks who have exhausted their 99 weeks of unemployment benefits. The bone-chilling part was him hosting a large group of them in Silicon Valley and the frightening number of them who identified themselves…
Read MoreWARNING: This post is highly promotional both for HDS and our client. But once you read it you'll understand why I posted and why you should at least take a look. It is with great pleasure that I introduce you to Hodges Digital Strategies' first "official" Facebook custom landing page, executed for ChildFund International's "100 Days of Yes" campaign. While we have already completed a number of similar clients with our new partner Sonali Shetty, this is the first one launched under the new HDS…
Read MoreThis is a blog post that is more than two years in the making. Past posts have alluded to growth at The Hodges Partnership, mainly focusing on the new two-story addition to the back of our Shockoe Bottom home. But I have hinted at something more, and here it is. Today I'd like to announce the creation of a second business under the Hodges umbrella, Hodges Digital Strategies. HDS is the product of a two-year journey we're taken with a number of folks including our…
Read MoreThis story goes back two years to when Aaron Dotson, our friend from Elevation Advertising, invited me to a coffee at Starbucks. In that meeting I agreed to help him out with an idea that revolved around a website and gift cards that would enable people to "give the gift of charity" to others. Fast forward two years later, Aaron calls me and says "remember that coffee we had two years ago?" The website is now a project of the great folks at The Community…
Read MoreOn Monday, I'm speaking at the Virginia Statewide Parent Education Coalition annual conference, the topic is all things social media including issues like privacy and new technologies. So I'm been giving a great deal of thought to those issues this week. This at a time when my alma mater, Rutgers University, is making national headlines for all the wrong reasons. This week, two university students were first charged in connection with broadcasting online a private sexual encounter between two young men. One of those young…
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